December 07, 2008

A Fancy Medley (1893)

Throughout the mid- and late 19th century, dancing masters had mixed quadrille figures and couple dances such as the waltz, polka, schottische, and galop into single figures or entire quadrilles. A popular variation on this idea was a "varieties" or medley quadrille in which each figure used a different kind of music and incorporated a different couple dance. Such a one is this Fancy Medley, published in Boston in 1893 in
The Prompter’s Handbook
by J.A. French. The three figures of the quadrille include a polka figure, a schottische figure, and a waltz figure. The original instructions may be seen here (page one) and here (page two). The individual figures are quite similar to some of French's single-figure quadrilles, such as the Waltz Quadrille and Polka Quadrille discussed in earlier posts here (waltz) and here (polka) and bear a close family resemblance to other single-figure quadrilles of the era.

Music selectionThis quadrille needs three completely different tunes of different lengths and of different time signatures: 104b of polka, 88b of schottische, and something more than 144b of waltz.

4b Head couples forward and back 4b Head ladies change places 8b Head couples polka round with new partners 4b Head ladies change back20b Side couples repeat above

8b All polka half round to original places 8b Grand right and left half round 8b All polka half round to places 4b All join hands and go forward and back 4b All go forward and bow/courtesy16b All polka round

Figure notes:

I prefer to dance this figure using polka steps throughout. Ladies should take care to always start a figure on the right foot and gentlemen on the left in order to be on the correct foot when beginning the "polka round" figures.

After the head ladies change back, the dancers will be a half-phrase off the music for the next twenty bars. The side ladies changing back will put the figures back on the musical phrase.

It is not clear in the original whether the various "polka round" figures are meant to go all the way round in eight bars or in sixteen. The only direct clue is that after the grand right and left halfway, there are eight bars to polka back to places, which suggests that when all four couples are moving, they spread out to a longer path and eight bars takes the whole set only half way around. When only two couples are moving they take a shorter path in order to stay inside the other two couples and should be able to go all the way round in eight bars.

The final polka round is begun with the dancers all fairly close together, having moved forward but not back; the dancers should aim strongly outward as they dance round to restore the set to its original dimensions.

2. Schottische Figure (8b intro + 80b dance)

[8b Introduction]16b All schottische (see note below) 8b First couple schottische24b Other couples schottische in turn, beginning with couple opposite first couple16b Grand right and left all the way around16b All schottische (see note below)

Figure notes:

There is no intro given in the original instructions, but the dancers need some sort of cue, so I have assumed this is an oversight and added in the standard introduction.

On the "all schottische" sections, my preference is to perform the schottische sequence in classic form, with the first part neither turning nor progressing but instead all couples moving in towards the center of the set and out again, then using the second part ("step-hops") to turn and progress to the next place in the quadrille. Repeating this four-bar sequence four times will fill the music and return the dancers to their original places.

For the "grand right and left," the dancers start by giving right hands to partners. Each change should take one complete part (first or second) of the schottische. Do not rush this figure!

3. Waltz Figure (8b intro + 32bx4 + more) 8b Introduction

8b Head couples waltz around the inside of the set 4b All forward and back 4b All forward and bow/courtesy16b All waltz twice round32b Repeat the above with side couples leading

4b All join hands and go forward and back 4b Pass each lady from the gentleman’s left to his right 8b All waltz once round with new partners48b Repeat three more times, ending with original partners

8b Grand right and left half round??? Take partners, break the set, and waltz freely around the room until the music ends.

Figure notes:

The "passes" in the second part of the waltz figure are a very old figure,
used at least as far back as 1820 in the country dance form known as
"Spanish Dances" or "Danse Espagnole". They still occur in some
versions of the surviving Spanish Dance all the way through the 19th
century, as well as in various quadrille figures (primarily, but not exclusively, waltz figures). Ladies should take care
to use all of the time given to move to their new place.

The final grand right and left uses two bars of waltz music for each change. Dancers should be careful not to rush this figure: make graceful curved paths and take all the music given.